Combined bale-breaker, automatic feeder, and opener.



J. G. POTTER. COMBINED BALE BREAKER, AUTOMATIC FEEDER, AND OPENER.

APPLIOATIONIILED JANA, 1911.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. 0. POTTER. I COMBINED BALE BREAKER, AUTOMATIC FEEDER, ANDIOPENER.

APPLICATION IILBD JANA, 1911. 7 1,01 5,764, Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v Maw" 'JOLIMIHA I'LANUGRAPII conwnsumo-mn, [L c,

JAMES CHARLES POTTER, OF PAWTUGKET, RHODE ISLAND. I

COMBINED BALE-BREAKER, AUTOMATIC FEEDER, AND OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 23,1912.

Application filed January 4, 1911. Serial No. 600,791.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES C. POTTER, of Pawtucket, in the county of Providence and in the State of Rhode Island, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Combined Bale Breakers, Automatic Feeders, and Openers, and do hereby declare the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to cotton handling machines, and my object is to provide a machine for this purpose which will require no special care in feeding the baled cotton to the machine, in order to have the proper quantity of cotton passed through the machine which it is able to take care of, to secure the production by the machine of a uniform lap, and for the attainment of this object, I provide the machine with a feeder that automatically takes care of the baled .cotton delivered to the machine, so as to assure the passage through themachine of a regulable quantity of cotton. Aside from this automatic control of the feed of the cotton, the invention has in view the use of other means contributing to the production of an even or uniform lap, and it also has in view the production of a compact structure, and one which in its operations is a very clean one, the machine in this last-. named respect being an important improvement because machines for thesame purpose with which-I am acquainted are exceedingly dirty. y

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a view partly inside elevation and partly in section of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a detail view in perspective of the automatic devices for controlling the feed of the cotton through-the machine; and Fig. 3 a detail view intransverse section through the dust fiue and :fan casing.

In the embodiment of my invention which I have selected to illustrate my invention, the machine has a combined frame and casing 10, by which the mechanism that oper 14, which catch the cotton brought by the horizontal apron 11, and carry it upwardchamber 18, said chamber having a down wardly and forwardly inclined end wall 19 to which the cotton from the doffer cylinder is discharged. At the bottom of said feeding chamber or compartment, is a horizontal slatted apron 20 similar to the apron 10, by which cotton is moved forward as it falls into the compartment or chamber, and is received at the forward end of the chamber by a slatted spiked apron 21 arranged vertically, the spikes of which, however, are smaller than the spikes of the apron 13, because by this time the cotton has been sufliciently opened to admit of use of the smaller spikes, and contiguous to the upper end of said spiked apron 21, at the rear side thereof, is a pin cylinder 22 to break up any masses or bunches of cotton too large to be carried or fed onward, and there is a dofl'er roller 23 for removing the cotton from the spikes of the apron 21.

In the feeding chamber or compartment 18, I provide for the automatic regulation of the quantity of cotton to render uniform or even the lap delivered from the machine,

and I may do this by means of an that is hinged or pivoted in the chamber or compartment consisting of a horizontally swingingboard 24, and which is moved to and fro by variations in the quantity of cotton delivered to the compartment or chamber, it swinging forward when there is a smaller quantity ofcotton, and rearward when there is a larger quantity. Said board tends normally to swing forward or in contact with the cotton, such movement being produced by means'of a crank arm 26 on the shaft or pivot of the board outside the casing' from which is suspended a weight 28. I utilize'the to and fro motion of the hinged board to control the movement of the first spiked apron to which the cotton is delivered, the movement of said apron being stopped when the quantity of cotton to be fed onward from the compartment or.

chamber is exceeded in said chamber, and

started and the movement continued when the right quantity of cotton is in the compartment or chamber. This I accomplish by employing belt gearing to impart motion to said apron, which belt gearing comprises fast and loose pulleys 29 and 30, respectively, and a belt that runs to a driving pulley. The shaft 81 of the fast and loose pulleys has a pinion 32 in mesh with a gear 34 on the shaft 35 of the upper roll 36 of the spiked apron 21. A clutch 37 on the shaft 81, is engaged by-a lever 270, pivoted to a bracket 38, and'connected by a link 27 to the lever 26 from which is suspended the weight 28. To insure a quick movement of the clutch 37 into engagement with the fast pulley 29, a weighted lever 39 is provided that has a finger 40 which engages notches 41 in the lever 26, and which by opposing the movement of the lever 26 under cotton pressure until the latter is ance,

suflicient, suddenly to overcome the resistavoids hammering of the clutch teeth. Of course other forms of gearing, and automatic operating mechanisms, may be employed, in place of that which I have illustrated and described as constituting an embodiment of my invention. 7

It will be evident that regardless of the quantity of cotton that is placed upon the feeding apron 11, only the quantity that the machine can take care of to produce the desired lap will find its way through the machine.

From the second spiked apron 21, the cotton is delivered to a chamber 43 in which is mounted a wire or other open-work cage 44 on a horizontal shaft 45,- and from one end of said cage a flue or air trunk 46 leads downward to an exhaust fan 47 mounted in a suitable casing below the cage. Air is thus drawn through the cage from the compartment above it, into which the cotton is'delivered, and theresult is that cotton is distributed over the-entire upper surface of the cylinder or cage. This operation is an important factor in assuring an even or uniform lap. The air drawn through the cage by the fan is taken from the end of the machine to which the baled cotton is delivered so that there is a current of air constantly passing through the machine from end to end that carries with it to the fan the dirt and dust givenoif in the operation of the machine, so that no dirt or dust escapes from the machine into the room. A

bars '52, arranged concentric with the beater, thence to be delivered from the machine either to a cleaning trunk or a lap head. 7

My machine having the two chambers containing respectively the spiked aprons 13 and 21, is a double hopper feeder, and as a constant quality of cotton is maintained in the second chamber or hopper, the spiked apron 21 thereof acts under uniform conditions and accordingly delivers a regular quantity of cotton. The current of air drawn through the machine by the suction fan circulates through the hoppers so that it comes in close contact with the tumbling cotton therein with a very beneficial action upon it so that the efficiency of the cleaning and seasoning is increased, and, of course,

there is the important advantage of preventing dust and fly from escaping intothe room. The machine delivers an even regular sheet of cotton to the feed rolls 50 of the first beater 51, thereby giving a constant and even sheet for the heater to operate on and the sheet being uniform or even the cotton is held firmly between the feed rolls with no thin places to be drawn through without beating. The cotton when it arrives at the feed rolls 50 is thoroughly loosened up and bloomed ready for beating without danger of injuring the staple. The machine will handle cotton either directly fromv the V bale or from mixing'bins.

I regard the machine constructed as I have shown and described as the best embodiment of my invention, especially. in respect to the organization of the various elements thereof in one compact structure of directly related elements, but while this isthe case, I do not restrict myself only to such an embodiment of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I- claim is 1. The combination of two hoppers re- 'ceiving cotton in succession,a cotton carrier at the bottom of each, a vertically traveling apron situated between the two hoppers, a board movable to and fro in the second hopper, driving mechanism for said apron,

means controlling said driving mechanism, a connectlon between said means and said board, condensingrolls, and means to carry the cotton from the second hopper to the condensing rolls.

2. The combination of two chambers which receive the cotton in successionand consti- 4 tuting a double hop-per, means for passing for causing air to pass through said chambers and toward the beater. V

3. The combination of two chambers,

means situated between the two chambers for taking cotton from one and delivering it to the other, a feeler in the second chamber for controlling the supply of cotton thereto, means for passing cotton from the second chamber, and an exhaust fan located beyond the two chambers and drawing air therethrough.

4. The combination of a horizontally traveling cotton-receiving apron, a vertically traveling spiked apron taking cotton from the horizontally traveling apron, a chamber into which the cotton is delivered from the apron taking cotton from said chamber, a

cage receiving cotton from said last named spiked apron, and an exhaust fan communicating with the interior of said cage.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES CHARLES POTTER. Witnesses:

EARL H. RoBERTs, ELVERY LINGARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each,- by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

